Kiara, meet Pinetree. Pinetree, meet Kiara.

These two got off to a rather…bumpy start, putting it mildly. Of course, it was partially Pinetree’s fault for just barging in like that, without so much as a knock, and nearly scaring Kiara out of her skin. Then, once he couldn’t find Zecora anywhere, instead of sitting quietly for her to return, he goes and gets the bright idea of sneaking into her carboards for something to snack one. Do you really think Kiara was going to let this strange, skinny beast just ravage her mentor’s pantry? 

Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

Imagine Zecora’s surprise when she arrived not ten minutes later to find her new apprentice standing proudly in front of the cauldron that had her other apprentice inside, tied up, gagged, and out cold. Boy, did it take Zecora forever to explain the situation to Kiara, and not just because she had to make it rhyme. The next thing Pinetree knew, he was smelling something like ginger, had a rather pervasive headache on the back of his head, and Zecora along with another smaller, very suspicious looking zebra were standing over him.

Kiara, who had never heard of a ‘pony’ before in her life- much less seen one, was rather intrigued by the strange and seemingly intelligent being, while at the same time was very skeptical of him. Not that Pinetree was feeling too ‘buddy-buddy’ either. Unfortunately for both of them, having the same teacher meant they were doomed to hang out together and that they might as well like each other starting now. Neither foals were too happy with the situation and with the determination to dislike each other, both secretly resolved to dislike the other and make their life as miserable as possible. Thus, their glorious  ̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶h̶i̶p̶  rivalry began.

At first, they did a great job of it. Kiara would constantly taunt Pinetree, nitpick about little things he’d do, and tease him relentlessly just to get under his skin; while Pinetree, who disliked being picked on by a bratty 10-year-old, would play as many subtle, infuriating pranks on her as he could and would often ignore her when she teased him, since it only seemed to irritate her more. Life was stressful, to say the least for Zecora for the first month or two.

However, their deep, burning hatred for each other didn’t last as long as they hoped. Kiara’s playful nature and thirst for adventures were similiar, if not more than that of Pinetree’s, and before long she found herself no longer interested in making him mad as she was much happier exploring the forest with him or listening enraptured to his tales of the world of  Pone-i-ville. As for Pinetree, once Kiara lightened up a little on the mocking and started to actually talk to him, he found the filly rather tolerable, if not likable. She was more fiery and daring than most of his friends and even had a big heart under all of her boisterous and strange mannerisms. 

Slowly but surely, these two became fast friends before they ever realized it. It just…happened naturally. With perhaps the tiniest, slightest help from Zecora  ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶p̶r̶a̶i̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶c̶e̶s̶t̶o̶r̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶w̶o̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶p̶p̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶i̶c̶k̶e̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶l̶i̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶.̶ That’s not to say they don’t have their rivalry. When it comes to Zecora’s attention and praise, these two are constantly butting heads over it, and they’ll turn any and every lesson Zecora gives into a competition. Even though they’re on good terms now, Kiara’s teasing can go too far sometimes while Pinetree can easily get carried away with his tricks, and even all-out fights still occur now and then. The good news is, neither can really hold a grudge for long and usually all Pinetree has to do is make Kiara laugh again (not a difficult feat) and they’re back to being buddies again.

I’ve got a lot more to say about these two and their friendship, but this post is already long, so I’ll just stop here. Hopefully, I’ll get to do more with these two soon! Also, side note, Kiara is 10-years-old while Pinetree is 12.

boi doesn’t that stick look familiar….